Ice removing device



April 25, 1939. 1 R ROYER ET AL 2,156,066

ICE REMOVING DEVICE Filed April 7, 1937 :inventors B Alfonso. 17V,Bzafln,

g leoy. Tf1/en (Ittorneg Patented' Apr. 25, 1939 PATENT oFFlcE/'l 10EnEMovnvG Device Jesse R.' Boyer, Janesville, and Alfonso W.

Blaine and Iowa Le Roy R. Weir, Del Moines,

Appucaon anni 1, 1937, sei-n1 Nn. 135,442

2 Claims.

Our invention relates to'ice removing devices, and particularly to thosefor use in breaking up and removing ice or snow coatings of a hard orpacked consistency.

One feature of our invention is the provision of a rotatable device,such as a drum, whose cylindrical tread surface has numerous conicapertures with apical or inner ends which open through the wall of thedrum, with headed detents having conic frustal stems which are fitted insaid conic apertures loosely enough to permit of their being partiallyrotated therein to seat the detents with their outer tread portions orheads disposed in directions on the drum related in special arrangementsto each other, in rows or staggered, or set in variously directed pairs,to thus arrange them for their special and associated functions.

Another object of our improvements is to associate with the dentateddrum means for lifting and lowering it, and a translatable vehicle uponwhich it is suspended and supported adjustably and associated with powerdriven means for rotating the drum forwardly when in progress ahead inoperating upon an ice or snow coating on a highway surfaced or othersurface.

Another vobject of our improvements is to also associate with said druma scraping device to follow it, operating to gather and deliver icefragments dislodged by the drum detents.

We have attained the above objects in actual construction and practicaltests, by the means and mechanism which are hereinafter described andclaimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

It is to be understood that various modifications in the details ofconstruction of parts of the apparatus and its connections may be madewithout departure from the principles and scope of the invention asdefined herein. Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a road treating machinehaving ice shattering means thereon. Fig. 2 is an enlarged transversesection of the dentated drum thereof. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view ofthe outer cylindric face of the drum with the detents thereon. Fig. 4 isa fragmentary cross section of the drum, showing said detents inelevation.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a conventional type of frame mounted onwheels and such as is usually employed ln road working graders or forother purposes. It consists of forward and rear pairs of wheels 25 and26 on which the upwardly bowed side frame members 24 are mounted fordirigible translation, and a subframe 2l suspended on the main frame,pivotally at its forward end and swingable up or down by means of ahand-wheel 21, and gearing and pivotal connections shown at 28, 29, 30and.3|, the gears in the housing 28 being o'f the worm-wheelcombination, self-locking. By this means the subframe with the drum andscraper 23 may be raised or lowered. l p On the sub-frame 2| are securedthe Shanks 20 of curvate hangers I9 which carry plates I6 rockablylinked thereto at I8, the plates sustaining the cross scraper blade 23secured on flanges 22. A lower pair of frame members I4 are at theirforward ends pivoted to xedhangers I5 on the sub-frame side bars 2I. Therear ends of the members I4 havebolt and nut connection with the platesI6 bytraversing a vertically disposed slot I1 in said plates foradjusting purposes. A shaft 1 bracketed to depend from the members Ilhas at one end a sprocket wheel 8 to be driven by a sprocket chain 9which passes around a small sprocket wheel Il mounted on a shaft of anengine I0 mounted on a main frame bar 24. The rear ends of the membersIl have spring connections I3 with the rear ends of the pivoted lowestmembers I2, whose forward ends are pivoted on the shaft 1.

A hollow drum I with closed end walls 3 is fixed on an axial shaft 2whose ends project therefrom and are rotatable in bearings on themembers I2. On an outer end of said shaft 2 is fixed a sprocket wheel 5traversed by a sprocket chain 6 whose forward loop is passed about asmaller sprocket wheel on the shaft 1. 'I'he drum I is thus rotatableforwardly at a desired speed during the progress of the vehicle 24.

Referring to Figs. 2 to 4 inclusive, which show the assemblage of theremovable detents with the drum'l in one relation or arrangementthereof, each detent has aconic frustal stem 4b of steep angularity andto fit into a drum socket la of the same angularity, but binding thereinclosely enough to permit of its being at times adjustably rocked to adesired position in its seat and to a desired extent, while being heldfrictionally as to not leave its seat without the exercise of areasonable force thereon. Further, as the drum rotates and bringssuccessively these detents into contact with a surface beneath, thedetents are kept in `place without turning therein. The detents may be,before use, turned to any desired extent in their seats, to arrange themrelatively to'each other as desired. A bead or annulus la. however,prevents further movement of the stem inwardly. On the stem 4b is anintegral wedgeshaped transverse hea-d 4 projecting outwardly from thedrum. These detents are numerously distributed around the drum I, andmay be posijtioned in any predetermined pattern thereupon,y

whether in longitudinal rows or otherwise, It has been found that thedetents should be rather closely set, and preferably-in staggered rowrelation as indicated in Fig. 3, where the detents I are in reverselydirected pairs in each row. and the detents in the rows to either sidestaggered with the detents in the medial row therebetween. Also, asshown in this figure, the blade-shaped heads are preferably inclinedobliquely relative to the direction of the rows. As the detents areclose set, their opposed obliquities while the drum is in rotation,causes them while penetrating a layer of ice or compacted snow, tostrain the ice laterally while penetrating it, so that the combnation oftransverse or obliquely directed strains with rearward compressionthereon as the drum rolls forward and carries under rearwardly thedetents, not only cracks the ice in diierent directions, but comminutesit, reducing it to non-adherent fragments, which then are gathered bythe scraper blade 23, the latter preferably being adjusted l slightlyangularly across in the rear of the drum. Actual tests have demonstratedthis action in practice. 'Ihe wedge shape of the detents obliquelyforces the ice fragments excavated between them to clean the surfacetraversed as the scraper gathers them and delivers them laterally.

We claim:

1. In combination, an ice removing device, said device including arotatable hollow drum having a plurality of inwardly coned aperturedseats in staggered relation circumferentially, and a like plurality oftooth devices having conic stems fitted rockably in said seats andhaving heads projecting outwardly from the drum, said heads beingwedge-shaped and wider than the stems, and with certain of their wedgeparts relatively inclined with respect to the other associated wedgeparts, whereby the opposed wedge parts cooperate in penetrating ice indifferent directions along the drum to shatter and dislodge the l icetraversed for ready removal.

2. In combination, in an ice removing device. a rotatable drum having aplurality of inwardly coned apertured seats therearound, and a likeplurality of tooth devices having coned stems to removably t said seatswith heads of Wedge shape in spaced longitudinal .rows and with vthewedges in each row alternately oppositely inclined, whereby the wedgesoperate to penetrate and fracture ice traversed, in opposed directions.

JESSE R. ROYER. ALFONSO W. BLAINE. LE ROY R. WEIR.

